The Dark Side with Verity

The breath is the only autonomic function you can consciously control which makes it the most direct access point you have to your nervous system. In this episode, I'm talking to the part of you that's a little skeptical. The part that thinks breathwork is just fancy deep breathing with a playlist.
No woo. Just science.
We go deep on the mechanisms most certifications skip: why CO2 tolerance matters more than oxygen, how your vagal tone is trainable, what's actually happening in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex during a session, and why emotional release, tetany and somatic waves are signs the nervous system is working not breaking.
I'll walk you through the BOLT test so you can measure your own CO2 tolerance in real time, break down the breath styles I use with clients (slow coherent, box, 4-7-8, conscious connected, breath holds) and explain why a complete facilitator toolkit requires all of them.
This is the episode I wish every Breathwork student and every skeptical client had access to. If you're a facilitator, this is the standard. If you're a practitioner, this is the mechanism. If you're curious, welcome in.
In this episode:
Why breath is the only direct intervention for the nervous system
CO2 tolerance and why breathing more doesn't mean more oxygen
The BOLT test, measure yours as you listen
Vagal tone, HRV, and why your baseline is trainable
What breathwork actually does to the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and default mode network
Why emotional release happens and why it needs skilled facilitation
The breath styles every facilitator needs in their toolkit

🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.
Connect & Train with Verity
● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification
● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app
● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

You had a normal week. You didn't work crazy hours. You slept okay. So why are you bone-deep exhausted by Friday?
In this episode of The Dark Side with Verity, we unpack the exhaustion epidemic nobody's naming properly, the one that has almost nothing to do with how much you're doing and everything to do with what your nervous system is carrying.
You'll learn:
Why passive rest (scrolling, Netflix, lying down) doesn't actually regulate you
The nervous system bucket theory and what's secretly filling yours
Why high achievers find rest activating and how to rewire that
The hidden load carried by coaches, healers and anyone building in public
How to complete the stress cycle so your body stops storing it
A practical audit: what depletes you vs. what actually restores you
If you've been told to "just rest" and it's not working, this is the episode that explains why and what to do instead.
🌀 Take the 3-swallow test in the first minute to check your own nervous system state.
🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.
Connect & Train with Verity
● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification
● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app
● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

There's a version of the wellness industry that genuinely changes lives. And there's a version that quietly exploits the very thing it claims to heal.
This episode isn't about fake gurus or obvious over-claiming. It's about something far more subtle and far more common. It's about what happens when sharing your healing starts driving your healing. When your worst moments become your best performing posts. When vulnerability stops being an act of courage and starts being a growth strategy.
Verity goes there. Fully.
In this episode she unpacks:
How authenticity became currency and what that actually costs you
The moment your audience starts shaping your healing instead of the other way around
Why the most regulated, ethical practitioners are often outperformed by people bleeding publicly and what to do about it
Client stories, consent, and where social proof crosses into exploitation
The difference between sharing from your healed place versus sharing from an open wound
Why "you're allowed to feel good and still have something to say" might be the most radical thing you can model
This one is for every coach, facilitator, and wellness practitioner navigating the tension between building a brand and staying true to why they started.
Your audience is not your processing container. But your story? Still one of the most powerful things you have.

🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.
Connect & Train with Verity
● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification
● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app
● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

If you've ever delivered a great session, got incredible feedback, and still gone home convinced it was a fluke, this episode is for you.
Imposter syndrome isn't a mindset problem. It isn't a confidence problem. And no amount of affirmations, credentials, or "fake it till you make it" is going to touch it because it was never designed for what you're actually dealing with.
In this episode, Verity breaks down what imposter syndrome really is from a somatic and nervous system lens, including why the standard psychological definition completely misses the mark, what polyvagal theory reveals about the freeze and collapse response underneath it, and why high achievers, wellness practitioners, and coaches are especially vulnerable.
You'll learn:
Why your brain can't tell the difference between social threat and physical danger (and what that means for visibility)
How childhood conditioning, conditional praise, and performance-based belonging wire the nervous system for imposter syndrome
Why "fake it till you make it" actively makes it worse — and what to do instead
The real reason more certifications won't fix this
How to build genuine safety in the body through regulated, embodied visibility
Whether you're a breathwork facilitator, coach, or wellness practitioner who keeps stacking qualifications before letting yourself be seen, this episode will change how you understand yourself, your clients, and the work.

🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.
Connect & Train with Verity
● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification
● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app
● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

In this episode of The Dark Side with Verity Coonan, we explore how your nervous system may be the very thing limiting your income, business growth, and ability to receive.
Financial blocks aren’t just mindset issues, they’re survival responses stored in the body.
Through real-life experiences, including making costly decisions from a dysregulated state, Verity breaks down why regulation is essential for making aligned choices in business, money, and life.
If your body doesn’t feel safe with more… you’ll unconsciously push it away.
This episode will shift how you think about money, capacity, and what it actually takes to build sustainable success.

🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.
Connect & Train with Verity
● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification
● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @vidya.app
● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity